conference

BETWEEN CREATIVITY AND CRIMINALITY:
THE ART AND DESIGN OF THE CIVIL DOMAIN

INTEGRATED 2017 is the sixth edition of the thought-provoking conference format organized by St Lucas School of Arts Antwerp. The biennial event offers a platform for the compelling dialogue between art, design and society, and digs deep in the polemics of this discourse. It is a forum where speakers, students and professionals can compare their work, design processes, sources of inspiration and methodologies.

The 2017 edition focuses on the art & design of the civil domain, an ambiguous third space between market and state, where innovative design ideas, both physical and virtual, are more than often incubated in a grey zone between legality and illegality.

Are you a designer, artist, creative, or a de facto criminal? Join the discussion on 14 & 15 November at deSingel in Antwerp, Belgium.

Manifesto

TEXT BY PASCAL GIELEN (ARIA)
AND HUGO PUTTAERT (ST LUCAS ANTWERP)

During Integrated 2015, cultural philosopher Lieven De Cauter told the public to go and take a hike with his closing act entitled ‘Fuck Format’, a clenched quote for which he didn’t even require 140 characters. De Cauter was referring not only to the tyranny of the concept an sich, but also to how our way of thinking is being indoctrinated by predefined and fossilized paradigms and world views. Like the TINA slogan: ‘There is no alternative.’ In other words: vote, shut up and endure.

Nevertheless, despite what populists would like us to believe, there are alternative and possibly even more radical ‘groundswells of opinion’ noticeable, not seldom artistically inspired. Citizen initiatives, for instance, occupy an increasingly significant place in society. These are movements that emerge because an authority has (still) not developed a policy for them or because a market has (still) not seen the point of them and is therefore waiting. This civil terrain, also called the ‘commons’, occupies as it were a third space between market and state, and it does so under various guises (mental, physical and virtual), and that’s why it also often finds itself in a grey zone between legality and illegality. Because whoever launches a citizen initiative or claims civil rights doesn’t yet know whether they will be agreed to or not. Will an authority accept and regulate them, or will it work against these initiatives, sabotage them or even criminalize them? To be clear: civil actions are not simply criminal, but they precede the distinction between legality and illegality. That’s why it also always involves risky behaviour. The civilian who sticks his neck out, demands something new or sets up an organization puts himself on the line and runs the risk of never being recognized and even of never achieving his social position or losing it for good. It thus requires courage, and the social media also play a crucial role in this everyday struggle, for better or worse. Because online sharing is often synonymous with online lynching.

Integrated 2017 wishes to explore and shed light on the dynamics of this border area. Because citizen initiatives (whether indi-vidual or collective) not only make abundant use of design and artistic strategies as well as technology to boost their ideas, but they are also often initiated by designers, artists and architects. In Spain, for instance, the architects of Recetas Urbanas ‘illegally’ built a school on forbidden land, but where the population ‘legally’ needs it. In Croatia, DJs, theatre-makers and visual artists have taken the initiative to challenge the construction of a shopping centre and to block the privatization of motorways. In Belgium, Hart Boven Hard rests in part on the cultural sector, and ethical hackers can make hidden facts public on a global scale.

But the activism doesn’t have to take place on a political level exclusively. New tools and services are being developed, and from a commercial perspective too people are increasingly seeking the limits of the civil domain. Were Oliviero Toscani’s controversial photos for Benetton in the mid 1980s a sign of social engagement or merely an extremely clever advertising stunt? And what to think of the so-called ambient screens that, in cities around the world, are shaping a transnational public space? Is this merely visual ‘pollution’ of the public domain, or are they generating evocative settings for civil actions? The discussions generated by both ambient screens and Toscani make it clear in any case that they too are steering a course in a highly ambivalent area be-tween the public and private spheres, between commitment and commerce.

But there is also a darker side. As we have recently seen, some movements or actions are simply being hijacked for undemo-cratic political purposes. We all know now that fake news is disseminated among others via fake sites, a powerful instrument in the hands of ruthless, lying propagandists to influence public opinion, to indoctrinate people.

Nevertheless, this involvement of citizens is a source of hope. It also offers another dimension to the concept of ‘undertaking’. Because that is also ‘activating’ and moreover this type of undertaking is not being done here by traditional entrepreneurs, but by a range of actors, also and especially in the social and cultural fields. Services, products and tools no longer simply emerge be-cause they should support a growing economy, but also because they want to break open and reuse an occupied environment. Brussels-based Rotor Deconstruction, for instance, recuperates material from abandoned modern constructions, then reuses it in new constructions and further researches how new solutions can emerge from old ones. Graphic designers are also at work making complex cities and information systems more understandable, more navigable. Well-conceived information design also erects a dam against a soured society.

It is precisely this border area that interests Integrated 2017. What aesthetic does it generate and what positions do designers, artists and architects occupy in this? What is their language –not rarely devoid of humour– and what design and artistic strate-gies do they use? How does this civil domain get designed and shaped? We call this border area the terrain between creativity and criminality, because it often involves creative and highly innovative initiatives that don’t yet have a legal status. But it is also about a new aesthetics which –whether minimal or eclectic– falls into the undecided area between art and kitsch, artistic
and political engagement, social and commercial design.

— Pascal Gielen (professor of sociology of art and politics at the Antwerp Research Institute for the Arts) & Hugo Puttaert (Integrated conference responsible)

Partners

St Lucas School of Arts Antwerp

Initiator and organiser of the Integrated conferences since 2007, St Lucas is the art department from the Karel de Grote-Hogeschool, and one of Flanders leading Schools of Arts. It offers through a bachelor/master program three graduation areas, namely: Fine Arts, Graphic Design & Jewellery/Goldsmithing, next to the Master of Research in Art and Design.

Karel de Grote-Hogeschool

Karel de Grote-Hogeschool is a catholic university college that has over 10.000 enrolled students and that employs about 1.000 staff members. This makes us the largest university college in Antwerp and the second largest in Flanders.

deSingel

deSingel is an arts center for theatre, dance, music and architecture, meant for a broad art-loving audience. It is a place for contemporary and interdisciplinary interaction as well as for artistic creation, where new trends and insights are challenged. deSingel’s intention is to bring performing artists and audiences together in a climate of critical reflection and pioneering the creativity on the basis of an ambitous international programme.

The large-scale infrastructure consists of a medium-sized concert hall (966 seats), a large theatre for drama and dance (803 seats), an exhibition area, a music studio (150 seats) and a theatre studio (270 seats). Visitors are always welcome to use the well resourced reading room. In addition deSingel houses a Grand Café, a brasserie where you can have breakfast, lunch or a beer.

Yellowpress

YellowPress is the on- and offline publishing platform of St Lucas School of Arts, Antwerp. YellowPress is a reference to the so-called ‘Yellow Journalism’, a term that derives from a late 19th-century row between Joseph Pulitzer (New York World) and William Hearst (New York Journal). Yellow Journalism is often characterized by misleading news, garish images and headlines and a strong sympathy for the underdog. Notice the ironic wink that clarifies its name.

YP provides publishing services for researchers and/or platforms within St Lucas Antwerp. In addition, YP is researching new publication formats for artistic research in the current media landscape. YP also wants to develop an open and multidisciplinary attitude towards contemporary representation formats in the wider artistic field.

University of Antwerp

The University of Antwerp is characterised by its high standards in education, internationally competitive research and entrepre- neurial approach. It was founded in 2003 after the merger of three university institutions previously known as RUCA, UFSIA and UIA. Their roots go back to 1852. The University of Antwerp has about 18 500 students, which makes it the third largest university in Flanders. 13% of the students at the University of Antwerp are international students.The University of Antwerp formes the backbone of the Antwerp University Association (AUHA) a strategic collaboration with 3 university colleges located in Antwerp.

ARIA

Within the University of Antwerp, ARIA (Antwerp Research Institute for the Arts) is the point of contact with the Schools of Arts of the Antwerp Association, and supports the development of artistic research. More specifically, ARIA is qualified for the doctorate in arts. ARIA also furthers the contacts between University, Schools of Arts and the artistic world.

Copyright Bookshop

Copyright Bookshop is a bookshop in Antwerp and Ghent. They offer a wide and varied selection of art architecture and design books. After it’s start 25 years ago, Copyright became an established name in Flanders and beyond. Since 2007, Copyright is involved with the conference and will be organizing a special bookshop at deSingel during Integrated2013.

Arctic Paper

Arctic Paper is a leading European producer of graphic fine paper and delivers value, reading pleasure and a sense of touch through quality paper grades. The product portfolio includes well-known brands such as Amber, Arctic, G-Print and Munken. Annually Arctic Paper delivers 700.000 tonnes of premium graphic paper – for quality printing, reading and branding purposes – produced by more than 1.250 dedicated employees at three mills and distributed by 14 sales offices.

ANTWERP. POWERED BY CREATIVES

ANTWERP. POWERED BY CREATIVES. is the design platform for the province of Antwerp. It supports designers, connect them with other industries and advocates the value of design. The platform is an open house that brings together professionals with a background in design, government, education and other industries. ANTWERP. POWERED BY CREATIVES. enables designers to share knowledge, launch new projects and inspire each other. Let's make ideas work.

Digital Agency Network (DAN)

Digital Agency Network (DAN) focuses on collaboration, knowledge-sharing, business support and exploration.

DAN is a global network of carefully selected, highly talented, independently operated marketing & advertising agencies with digital DNA. DAN’s mission is to support member agencies’ businesses and enhance the intelligence, expertise, reach and effectiveness of the members through knowledge sharing and collaboration.

Today, there are more than 500 DAN member agencies operating in 57 cities worldwide. All member agencies are amongst the market leaders in their respective countries in terms of creativity, with an impressive portfolio of campaigns and awards.

Artoos/Hayez

In the spring of 2014, Artoos acquired the Brussels based printing company Hayez. Since then the two of us do business as Artoos-Hayez. Driven by the one-stop-shop principle, we relieve you of the burden of all your marketing and corporate communications. Being thé supplier of integrated solutions for on and offline publications, we offer you innovative solutions that shorten the time-to-market of your communications and increase your return on marketing investment. By tailoring our work to your needs, we enable you to optimize your total cost of ownership, day after day.

Present Company

Present Company is a family business since 1999 with offices in Belgium and The Netherlands and is your best source for (green) promotional gadgets. With our inhouse designstudio we can help you visualize and realize your custom made / bespoke merchandising ideas, from a pen to a bag or a complete merchandising line, everything is possible. Check our green division : ecogadgetshop.be. Feel free to contact us for more ideas and trends in promotional merchandising.

Graphius

Graphius Group is an umbrella organisation for a collection of printing firms. We operate on 3 locations: Ghent, Beersel (Brussels) and Nazareth, where we have set up vertically integrated industrial print works.

The Graphius production system, with 113 recent Heidelberg print towers and completely integrated bookbindery is among the most extensive on the European market. The whole production, ranging from a brochure to a hardcover book, is done in-house, giving us maximum control over quality, budget and throughput time, and last but not least, the environmental footprint of the production system is kept as minimal as possible.

Triakon

The digital printing company Triakon was founded in 1998 by Lucien De Schamphelaere, one of the pioneers of digital printing and the founder of Xeikon, the legendary Belgian manufacturer of digital color presses. Nowadays Triakon is one of the leading digital printing companies in Belgium. They deliver 'extraordinary digitally printed stuff' on virtually any material and in almost every conceivable dimension. "Out of the ordinary" is not an empty phrase at Triakon.

Form

Since its founding in 1957, form has been the leading special interest magazine for designers and design-interested readers, that reports across all topics of design and the latest developments in the field. With news, focus themes, and analyses form sets topics, provides orientation and stimulates the design discourse. The publishing house form also offers special editions, art prints as well as design-oriented literature.

form is turning 60 – and on Friday, 13 October 2017 from 19.57 pm form invites you to enjoy music (DJ Hamansutra), drinks and design from the past six decades at the Museum Angewandte Kunst in Frankfurt/Main.

Neon Moiré

Neon Moiré is a curated event guide and a monthly newsletter with on the world's most interesting design-driven conferences and events on our digitized world. The agenda focus on graphic design, typography, interaction design and creative coding, conferences, not to forget design film festivals and an overview of the top design summer schools. Next to the agenda we interview event organizers and speakers in written form as well as in our podcast the Neon Moiré Show.

Integrated is a non-profit organisation. Entrance fees are kept as low as possible and lecturers compensated fairly. Tickets are only sold for the two-day event only, lunches included. Tickets are sold exclusively through the website of the deSingel venue. A confirmation email will be sent upon payment and tickets will be posted to your given address. All ticket prices include 21% VAT. Professionals will receive an invoice upon request.

Info

Venue

deSingel is an arts center for theatre, dance, music and architecture, meant for a broad art-loving audience. It is a place for contemporary and interdisciplinary interaction as well as for artistic creation, where new trends and insights are challenged. deSingel’s intention is to bring performing artists and audiences together in a climate of critical reflection and pioneering the creativity on the basis of an ambitous international programme.

The Blue Hall (966 seats) is the stage for 8 x 40 minute lectures per day by our main speakers. The program is interrupted by a mini conference-within-a-conference during lunch break, known as YONN. This 'Young Ones National Neographic' intermezzo offers 6 intriguing micro-lectures, innovative student performances, recent graduate projects and/or other visual mayhem per day.